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Tears of a Clown
financetwitter.com |
As his administration stumbles into its last year, Obama
faces a faltering economy, the slow motion train wreck of Obamacare, a growing
threat of Jihadi terrorism, his serial failures in Iraq, Iran, Afghanistan,
Libya and Syria, a resurgent Russia, Chinese hegemony, a nuclear North Korea, and
racial tensions at home, to name just a few. Facing all those critical issues,
Obama inexplicably chose to focus on his despised bitter-clingers, the nation’s
law-abiding gun owners.
In Tuesday’s
address to the nation, Obama spent 33 minutes in an emotion driven, weepy, deeply
narcissistic performance where he mentioned himself 76 times. He proposed a
series of anti-gun actions his bureaucracy could take, ignoring the
Constitutional process of legislation. It was immediately obvious that NONE of these initiatives could have
prevented the mass-killings that drew his crocodile tears. This divisive
president once again tried to demonize the gun-lobby, the NRA and the millions
of law-abiding gun owners.
The White House provided a fact
sheet of Obama’s executive actions.
Using that press release along with the transcript
of Obama’s address, we’ve analyzed Obama’s thrusts. It should be
noted that we are working with Obama’s carefully parsed words. It is a virtual
certainty that the administration will twist the words to suit their own ends,
and we must opine with that in mind. All of us will have to keep an eye on
these initiatives and push back strongly were our Constitutional Rights are
threatened.
1.
Tighten Background Checks
Obama: The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) is
making clear that it doesn’t matter where you conduct your business—from a
store, at gun shows, or over the Internet: If you’re in the business of selling
firearms, you must get a license and conduct background checks.
Analysis: Obama
starts with more than a little bit of feldercarb. If you are in the business of
selling guns, as defined by the law, you have a Federal Firearms License (FFL)
and every gun you sell, be it offered for sale in a storefront, gun show, or
internet, goes through a FBI background check. Period. End of story. There is
no gun show loophole.
The threat in this executive action is a change of the definition,
expanding just who is in the business of selling guns. Is it a guy
supplementing his income with a few well considered purchases and sales, a hobbyist
buying new guns and selling the old ones, a gun owner liquidating part of his
collection to pay the mortgage, or a widow selling her late husband’s extensive
collection? They all could find
themselves running afoul of this expanded regulation. In his refusal to provide
concrete definition of a gun business, we believe Obama seeks to add even more
confusion and uncertainty into the process, demonizing the lawful sale of
assets. We do know the creep selling
guns out of the trunk of his car will not be affected in the slightest.
2.
Restrict Trusts and Corporations in
the Authorization of Class III purchases.
ATF is finalizing a rule to require background checks for people trying to buy
some of the most dangerous weapons and other items through a trust,
corporation, or other legal entity.
In an
unproven allegation, Obama stated that violent criminals are trying to buy some
of the most the most dangerous firearms by hiding behind trusts and
corporations. This cannot be supported by any data. To Obama, the fact that no
criminals are queueing up with their 200 dollars to buy short barreled rifles, shotguns
or a suppressor is beside the point. Obama
was able to mouth the “most dangerous weapons” description.
This change to the regulations has
been tried before. Public outrage caused the proposed regulation to be
withdrawn.
3.
Obtain Complete Criminal History From
the States
Attorney General Loretta E. Lynch has sent a letter to States highlighting the
importance of receiving complete criminal history.
If this was an issue, why has it
not been addressed in the prior seven years?
4.
Make the Background Check System More
Efficient
The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is overhauling the
background check system to make it more effective and efficient. The envisioned
improvements include processing background checks 24 hours a day, 7 days a
week, and improving notification of local authorities when certain prohibited
persons unlawfully attempt to buy a gun. The FBI will hire more than 230
additional examiners and other staff to help process these background checks.
In one of our staff’s experience, almost
every one of the electronic background checks is already completed in less than
30 seconds. It’s difficult to believe
that could be significantly improved, especially if you are going to throw more
government at it. It already seems to be running 24 hours a day, including
government holidays.
This may actually make it easier on
the smaller FFLs who use the telephone call in method of FBI verification.
Especially since the Top Gun Salesman of All Time keeps driving the public to
buy more and more guns.
And congratulations on the
notifications to local authorities when there is an unlawful attempt to buy a
gun, but why wasn’t this being aggressively pursued already? Only 44 persons were prosecuted in a prior
year. What the hell has your administration been doing Mr. President?
5.
Focus on Smart and Effective
Enforcement of Gun Laws
The Attorney General convened a call with U.S. Attorneys around the
country to direct federal prosecutors to continue to focus on smart and
effective enforcement of our gun laws.
We will soon see the awesome power of the telecom. Or not.
Under Obama, gun prosecutions have fallen dramatically.
6.
200 More ATF Agents and Investigators
The President’s FY2017 budget will include funding for 200 new ATF
agents and investigators to help enforce our gun laws.
That’s roughly $70 million per year for new
agents. In a year that that includes only the last 4 months of the Obama’s
administration. We’re going to bet that the House round-files Obama’s
suggestion during the budgeting process.
7.
Already Established Internet
Investigation Center and National Integrated Ballist Integrated Information
Network (NIBIIN)
ATF has established an Internet Investigation Center to track
illegal online firearms trafficking and is dedicating $4 million and additional
personnel to enhance the National Integrated Ballistics Information Network.
IIC and NIBIIN (ick and nibbin’) Those acronyms
should say it all. If the bureaucrats don’t have a cool sounding acronym,
nobody’s going to pay much attention. And
the few millions authorized won’t even start to fund an effective program in
the bloated Federal government.
8.
Guns Lost and Stolen From FFLs
ATF is finalizing a rule to ensure that dealers who ship firearms notify
law enforcement if their guns are lost or stolen.
The requirement to report firearms lost or
stolen in Transit has been an ATF rule for decades. What this order will probably
do is create an immediate notification requirement as well as demanding more
frequent audits of the FFL’s inventories. These additional burdens will
increase costs to the FFLs and their customers, as well as the risks of
criminal prosecution for failing the regulations. The BATFE is already infamous
for its “Death by a Thousand Cuts” management style. This revision will
certainly not help.
9.
Renew Domestic Violence Outreach
Efforts
The Attorney General issued a memo encouraging every U.S. Attorney’s
Office to renew domestic violence outreach efforts.
No real way to tell what this means.
However, Federal and State governments have been increasing focusing on
pre-crime gun rights restrictions. As in trend-setting California, the Feds
would like to eliminate gun rights from anyone who could possibly be considered
a threat, based on an allegation, without due process or appeal. Welcome to the world of Minority
Report.
10. Increase
Access to Mental Health Care
The Administration is proposing a new $500 million investment to increase
access to mental health care.
This increase is certainly needed and
welcome. However, a half a billion won’t make a dent in the mental health needs
of Obama, his administration, and the Federal bureaucracy.
Snark aside, using mental health concerns,
which may be biased, overblown or temporary to permanently eliminating 2nd
Amendment rights, is an escalating threat.
11. Social
Security Issues Eliminating Firearm Rights
The Social Security Administration has indicated that it will begin
the rulemaking process to include information in the background check system
about beneficiaries who are prohibited from possessing a firearm for mental
health reasons.
This order would allow the Social Security
Administration to eliminate firearm rights based on an arbitrary determination
of incompetence. A recipient designating another person as having financial
responsibility would trigger this notification. Many of our nation’s elderly
would be stripped of their firearms just when they are at their most vulnerable.
All without due process or the ability to challenge.
Obama’s Social Security
Administration has already tried this dodge. Public and political outrage
forced them to quickly withdraw the proposed rule. This rule should certainly
be withdrawn again. The similar Veteran
Administration regulation should also be eliminated. The bureaucratic,
unchallengeable, adjudicated elimination of rights should not be allowed to
stand.
12. Doctor’s
To Report Mental Health Issues to the FBI
The Department of Health and Human Services is finalizing a rule to remove
unnecessary legal barriers preventing States from reporting relevant
information about people prohibited from possessing a gun for specific mental
health reasons.
This is perhaps the most chilling of all
of Obama’s proposals: Doctors would be required to report their suspicions of
mental health issues to the FBI. Their patient would then lose his or her 2nd
Amendment Rights – forever. With little or no ability to appeal or the right to
due process.
The executive order has a host of
legal, ethical and professional problems. It intrudes on the formally protected
Doctor–Patient relationship and confidentially. MDs without the specialized
psychiatric training would be forced to make a snap mental health judgements.
As doctors under Obamacare are now de-facto employees of the government, they
could be coerced to report on the slightest of suspicions, or even be given
quotas to meet. As the doctor’s license,
practice, insurance and career could be put in jeopardy if a patient is not
reported as mentally ill, they will be incentivized to over-report. Worst of
all, because of Big Brother’s presence in the treatment rooms and the draconian
gun seizures, some people will hesitate to get the treatment they need.
It should be noted that doctors kill
120,000 people each year through errors or malpractice. That’s more than an order of magnitude more than
murders with guns. Should we actually be
banning doctors?
13. Conduct
or Sponsor Research into Gun Safety Technology
The President has directed the Departments of Defense, Justice, and
Homeland Security to conduct or sponsor research into gun safety technology.
The Progressive fantasy of
smart-gun technology rears its ugly head again. Obama even compared this fanciful
technology to the fingerprint readers on smart phones. Considering that phones are treated a lot
more gently than guns – and the fingerprint readers don’t work all that well –
that is a very poor comparison.
And given that the government will likely require a disabling backdoor to be
installed in the software, this is an extremely blatant assault on the 2nd
Amendment. This proposal could only come from someone used to being protected
by guards with hair triggers.
14. Regular
reviews of Smart Gun technology
The President has also directed the departments to review the
availability of smart gun technology on a regular basis, and to explore
potential ways to further its use and development to more broadly improve gun
safety.
In his address, Obama also called for tracking
devices to be placed in guns. Hundreds
of people, including two American law-enforcement agents, could be alive if
those devices only been added to the guns Obama and Eric Holder sold to the
Mexican drug cartels. Giving the government the ability to determine where the
guns are – well, that couldn’t possibly go wrong… right?
Obama also called for child resistant
triggers. This laughable goal is one more indication of just how far the man’s
thinking differs from average American and the Founding Fathers. He certainly
would not want child resistant triggers on the guns that protect him.
15. Congress
Called to Support the President’s Demands
Congress should support the President’s request for resources for 200
new ATF agents and investigators to help enforce our gun laws, as well as a new
$500 million investment to address mental health issues.
Hopefully, the Congress will be in no mood
to support these dangerous fantasies.
16. Urge
manufacturers, retailers, and other private-sector leaders to explore what more
they can do.
Because we all must do our part to keep our communities safe, the
Administration is also calling on States and local governments to do all they
can to keep guns out of the wrong hands and reduce gun violence. It is also
calling on private-sector leaders to follow the lead of other businesses that
have taken voluntary steps to make it harder for dangerous individuals to get
their hands on a gun. In the coming weeks, the Administration will engage with
manufacturers, retailers, and other private-sector leaders to explore what more
they can do.
This last pronouncement is a reminder of
the power of the government’s iron fist in the velvet glove. The Obama administration
has been very active in using the coercive power of the government to affect
their goals. Actions like Operation Choke Point have hampered lawful activities
that the administration found objectionable. This type of extra-legal coercion should be called out and resisted.
By our count,
that’s 16 anti-gun initiatives. None of them would address the problem of
terrorism the homeland soil, none of them would have prevented the mass
killings of the past, none of them would actually reduce crime. All of them
demonize the law-abiding gun owners who are more of the solution than part of
the problem. Obama should be called out for his feckless, divisive assault on
the Constitutional rights of America’s citizens. Mr President, we demand you focus on the issue
that actually threatening this nation, and stop trying to eliminate the Constitutionally protected right to keep and bear arms.
